1 Samuel 30
1 And it comes to pass, in the coming in of David and his men to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites have pushed toward the south, and to Ziklag, and strike Ziklag, and burn it with fire,
Three days later David and his men arrived back in Ziklag. Some Amalekites had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They had attacked Ziklag and burned it down.
2 and they take the women who [are] in it captive; they have not put anyone to death from small to great, and they lead [them] away, and go on their way.
They had captured the women and everyone else there, young and old. They hadn't killed anyone, but they took everyone with them as they left.
3 And David comes in—and his men—to the city, and behold, [it is] burned with fire, and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters have been taken captive.
When David and his men arrived back in town, they found it burned to the ground, and their wives and children captured.
4 And David lifts up—and the people who [are] with him—their voice and weep, until they have no power to weep.
David and his men cried loudly until they couldn't cry any more.
5 And the two wives of David have been taken captive, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail wife of Nabal the Carmelite;
David's two wives had also been taken as prisoners—Ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail, Nabal's widow, from Carmel.
6 and David has great distress, for the people have said to stone him, for the soul of all the people has been bitter, each for his sons and for his daughters; and David strengthens himself in his God YHWH.
David was in a great deal of trouble, because the men were so upset over losing their children that they began to talk of stoning him. But trusting in the Lord his God,
7 And David says to Abiathar the priest, son of Ahimelech, “Please bring the ephod near to me”; and Abiathar brings the ephod near to David,
David went to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, and said, “Bring me the ephod.” Abiathar brought it to him.
8 and David inquires of YHWH, saying, “I pursue after this troop—do I overtake it?” And He says to him, “Pursue, for you certainly overtake, and certainly deliver.”
David asked the Lord, “Should I chase after these raiders? Will I catch up with them?” “Yes, chase after them,” the Lord replied, “for you will definitely catch up with them and rescue the prisoners.”
9 And David goes on, he and six hundred men who [are] with him, and they come to the Brook of Besor, and those left have stood still,
David and six hundred of his men set off for the Besor Valley.
10 and David pursues, he and four hundred men (and two hundred men stand still who have been too faint to pass over the Brook of Besor),
Two hundred of them remained behind there because they were too tired to cross the valley while David continued on with four hundred men.
11 and they find a man, an Egyptian, in the field, and take him to David, and give bread to him, and he eats, and they cause him to drink water,
They came across an Egyptian in the countryside and they took him to David. They gave him some food to eat and water to drink.
12 and give to him a piece of a bunch of dried figs, and two bunches of raisins, and he eats, and his spirit returns to him, for he has not eaten bread nor drunk water [for] three days and three nights.
They also gave him a piece of a fig cake and two raisins cakes. He ate them and recovered, because he hadn't had any food or water for three days and nights.
13 And David says to him, “Whose [are] you? And where [are] you from?” And he says, “I [am] an Egyptian youth, servant to a man, an Amalekite, and my lord forsakes me, for I have been sick [for] three days,
“Whose slave are you, and where do you come from?” David asked him. “I'm an Egyptian,” he replied, “the slave of an Amalekite. My master left me behind three days ago when I got sick.
14 we pushed [to] the south of the Cherethite, and against that which [is] to Judah, and against the south of Caleb, and we burned Ziklag with fire.”
We raided the Kerethites in the Negev, as well as the part that belongs to Judah, and the Negev of Caleb. We burned Ziklag too.”
15 And David says to him, “Do you bring me down to this troop?” And he says, “Swear to me by God [that] you do not put me to death, nor do you shut me up into the hand of my lord, and I bring you down to this troop.”
“Can you lead me to these raiders?” David asked. “If you swear to me by God that you won't kill me or hand me over to my master, then I'll take you to them,” the man replied.
16 And he brings him down, and behold, they are spread out over the face of all the earth, eating, and drinking, and celebrating, with all the great spoil which they have taken out of the land of the Philistines, and out of the land of Judah.
He led David to the Amalekites, where they were spread out all over the place, eating, drinking, and dancing because of the large haul of plunder they had taken from the lands of the Philistines and of Judah.
17 And David strikes them from the twilight even to the evening of the next day, and there has not escaped of them a man, except four hundred young men who have ridden on the camels and flee.
David attacked them from dusk until the following evening. Nobody escaped, except for four hundred men who managed to get away, riding on camels.
18 And David delivers all that the Amalekites have taken; David has also delivered his two wives.
David got back everything the Amalekites had taken, including his two wives.
19 And nothing of theirs has lacked, from small to great, and to sons and daughters, and from the spoil, even to all that they had taken to themselves, David has brought back the whole,
Everything was accounted for—all the adults and children, as well as all the plunder the Amalekites had taken. David brought everything back.
20 and David takes the whole of the flock and of the herd [that] they have led on before these livestock, and they say, “This [is] David’s spoil.”
He also recovered all the flocks and herds. His men drove them ahead of the other livestock, shouting, “This is David's plunder!”
21 And David comes to the two hundred men who were too faint to go after David, and whom they cause to abide at the Brook of Besor, and they go out to meet David, and to meet the people who [are] with him, and David approaches the people, and asks of them of welfare.
When David got back to the two hundred men who had been too tired to continue with him from the Besor Valley, they came to meet him and the men with him. As David approached the men to greet them,
22 And every bad and worthless man, of the men who have gone with David, answers, indeed, they say, “Because that they have not gone with us we do not give to them of the spoil which we have delivered, except each his wife and his children, and they lead away and go.”
all the unpleasant, good-for-nothing men of those who had gone with David said, “They weren't with us, so we won't share the plunder that we took, except to give them back their wives and children. They can take them and leave.”
23 And David says, “You do not do so, my brothers, with that which YHWH has given to us, and He preserves us, and gives the troop which comes against us into our hand;
But David intervened, saying, “No, my brothers, you shouldn't do this with what the Lord has given us. He has protected us and handed over to us the raiders that had attacked us.
24 and who listens to you in this thing? For as the portion of him who was brought down into battle, so also [is] the portion of him who is abiding by the vessels—they share alike.”
Who's going to listen to you when you say such things? Whatever share those who went into battle receive will be the same as those who stayed to guard the supplies.”
25 And it comes to pass from that day and forward, that he appoints it for a statute and for an ordinance for Israel to this day.
David made this the rule and regulation for Israel from that day until now.
26 And David comes to Ziklag, and sends of the spoil to [the] elderly of Judah, to his friends, saying, “Behold, a blessing for you of the spoil of the enemies of YHWH,”
When David got back to Ziklag, he sent some of the plunder to each of his friends among the elders of Judah, saying, “Here's a gift for you from the plunder of the Lord's enemies.”
27 to those in Beth-El, and to those in South Ramoth, and to those in Jattir,
David sent it to those who lived in Bethuel, Ramoth Negev, Jattir,
28 and to those in Aroer, and to those in Siphmoth, and to those in Eshtemoa,
Aroer, Siphmoth, Eshtemoa,
29 and to those in Rachal, and to those in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, and to those in the cities of the Kenites,
Racal, and the towns of the Jerahmeelites and Kenites,
30 and to those in Hormah, and to those in Chor-Ashan, and to those in Athach,
Hormah, Bor-ashan, Athach,
31 and to those in Hebron, and to all the places where David—he and his men—had gone up and down.
Hebron—all the places David and his men had gone to.
